Australia’s defence officials are closely monitoring three Chinese warships that have been conducting live fire drills off Australia’s coast.
This week marked the furthest south a Chinese warship has ever travelled outside official visits to Australia.
Around 50 flights between Australia and New Zealand were disrupted by the fleet’s presence.
Both the Australian and NZ governments have accepted these warships have not breached international laws.
Warships
On 13 February, Australia’s defence department released a public alert that three Chinese warships were located off the north-east coast of Australia.
Over the course of the past week, the warships have travelled further south, parallel to Australia’s east coast.
The three ships have entered what’s known as Australia’s ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ (EEZ), which are the waterways within 370km of Australia’s border that are considered under Australian control.
Flight diversions
Last Friday morning, a Virgin Australia pilot alerted air traffic control that live firing was occurring in the Tasman Sea – the body of water that separates Australia and New Zealand.
These are exercises imitating open combat, firing real ammunition instead of shooting blanks.
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It triggered a “hazard alert” for all other flights, resulting in 49 commercial planes diverting their flight path.
Airservices Australia Deputy CEO Peter Curran confirmed the details at a Senate hearing this week.
Head of Australia’s Defence Department, Greg Moriarty, told a Senate hearing it’s the furthest south a Chinese fleet has travelled to conduct a military exercise.
Under global maritime law, states are allowed to conduct these types of drills in international waters.
However, Moriarty described the drills as “irresponsible”, adding that China had not provided enough forewarning to avoid disruptions.
The fleet is now located roughly 300km off the coast of Tasmania, which falls within Australia’s EEZ.
Reaction
The Australian Government has also criticised China’s lack of forewarning ahead of the drills.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said: “The issue that we've raised with China is the period of notice.”
Marles said flights were diverted because adequate notice wasn’t given; which he said is usually 12-24 hours.
Australia’s Shadow Defence Minister, Andrew Hastie, criticised the Government’s response as “weak”, urging a tougher stance against China.
